Saturday, December 10, 2011

'Dying' to be first place: obesity in the Caribbean



Obesity in the Caribbean has taken all new heights. According to a recent report by the World Bank, obesity along with other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease and cancer are threatening the increase in life expectancy in the Caribbean. Even though people are living longer than ever before, they are doing so with chronic diseases.


Research shows that there is a gender disparity of obesity in the Caribbean, where women are disproportionately more obese than men.

According to the World Bank, in the OECS (Organization of Eastern Caribbean States), Dominica is said to have the highest obesity prevalence in both men and women compared to other countries in the OECS. Data from the World Bank also indicates that unfortunately about 60% of women in St. Lucia will be obese by 2015.


According to the World Bank, the increase in the prevalence of obesity and other NCDs in the Caribbean is caused by globalization and urbanization, which has contributed to an increase in fast food consumption and less consumption of traditional, home-grown foods: fruits & vegetables. Therefore, to reverse the rates of obesity we need to consume more of our traditional home-grown foods and rely less on fast foods for nutrition. However, this is easier said than done. One of the most difficult things to do is to change someone's health behavior. The World Bank suggests establishing public policies that will improve the quality of life in the Caribbean.


What do you think should be done to decrease obesity rates in the Caribbean?

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3 comments:

  1. wow am surprised female are more obese than man :/ x

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  2. Hello Ms. Lolita. They are definitely heavier than men. By the way, I love your style..cute hair bow

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  3. I on the other hand am not surprised it's women who are bigger, biologically we are predisposed to being bigger, not obese but bigger. And then other societal circumstances create that always cookin yummy rich delicious food but not always having time to workout because you are busy taking care of the family and the house.
    I think everywhere there should be mandatory PE classes up through college and in addition to taking Sex Education we should have to take classes on Nutrition as well. And assuming they could fund this, all these new teachers we would need...would create some new jobs!! (teachers, those who write the books, coaches whatever) But I think it's just getting so big and if you are taught when you are young and it was mandatory, you would just get used to it! (I think) I remember it was every other day in elementary school, and then in middle school too. But then in high school, you only had to take one class and if I remember right, it was one semester out of 4 yrs, and then in college, it's not even required. I think it should be. A PALS Course at IC was like 0.5 or 1 credit so you can fit it in easier, I took 1 pals course at IC and there were so many interesting ones. I wish I forced myself to take more of them! Once a semester. It forces you to workout and you cant have any excuses because you are being graded (PAss/Fail....but who wants to Fail?)

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